Tightener for package bands, straps, and the like



E. DIETZE TIGHTENER FOR PACKAGE BANDS, STRAPS, AND THE LIKE Filed Jan. 15 .1924

I VENTOR B M (t ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 1 8, 1924.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EIIIL DIETZE, OF RICHMOND HILL, NEW YQRK, ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN CASTING AND MANUFACTURING CORPORATION, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, A CORIPORATION OF NEW YORK.

TIGH'I'ENER FOR PACKAGE BANDS, STRAPS, AND THE LIKE.

Application filed January 15, 1924. Serial No. 686,302.

' To all whom it may concern:

. Be it known that I, EMIL Dra'rzn, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Richmond Hill, borough of Queens, in the county 5 of Queens, city and State of New York,

have invented certain new and useful Imrovements in Tighteners for Packa e ands, Straps, and the like, of which t e following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

My present invention has reference to certain new and useful improvements in boxstrap applying machines having for their object the stretching of straps or wires around boxes or packa es of various kinds, in order that the metallicv or similar band, or like device, may be drawn or pulled taut prior to the fastening of the ends, as well as maintai'nin such band or bands in position during t e fastening thereon, it being,

' necessary to bind these bands tightly around the package and hold them securely while the ends of the bands are being united by the attachment thereto throu h the medium of a press of a seal, sealing evice, or other fastening or holding device, which will prevent any tampering with the package and any attempt to pilfer or rifle the contents of the same. The interlocking of the seal or fastening plate or the like, with the overlapping ends of the metallic band or hands is obtained with a minimum amount of labor and in a more secure and effective manner than is usual with other machines for a similar purpose. The invention, therefore, consists essentially, with this andother obects in view, in the construction, combination and arrangement of the various parts and in numerous peculiarities and modifications of the same, substantially as will be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing illustrating my invention: 9

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved devipe for tightening straps, wires, etc., around boxes, bales and packages in order that the ends of said straps or bands may be interlocked securely by seals or seal- .mg means.

Figure 2 is a top plan View of the same.

Figure 3 is a vertical longitudinal section on the line 3, 3, of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a vertical cross section on the line 4, 4, of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a cross section on the line 5, 5, of Figure 1.

Similar characters of reference designate corresponding arts throughout the diflerent figures of t e drawing.

The main frame 1 of the machine is simle, small, fiat, and preferably skeleton-like, having a general F-shape and with an elongated horlzontal bar 1 guide in which a rack bar 4 slides, andhaving also an angular head 2 provided with parallel upright lugs 3, 3, which furnish bearings for the stationary pin 26; said head 2 having alsoa horizontal guide passage 2 v(see Figure 3) through which the rack bar 4 having rack 4 reciprocates during the operation-of the machine. I y

In the upright lugs 3 is a handle p1vot 26 which carries the gear wheel 6 loosely serving as a straight mounted thereon, the teeth of which engage with the teeth 4 of the rack bar 4 while the wheel 6 is revolvable under the influence of a dog 20 carried by the operating handle 5, said handle 5 havmgits inner end split or forked to provide parallel members 30,

30, which are perforated toallow the pin 26 to pass through them so that these members and also the handle 5 may thereby be loosely mounted on the pin 26 and be movable up and down thereon.

The stationary pin 26 has at one end a disc 27 set in a circular opening in one of the lugs 3 and held in any position to which it may be adjusted .by means of the screw 36, while the other end of the pin 26 is formed integral with a pin section of smaller diameter 28 which passes through an' opening in the other lug 3. On the pin member 28 and secured thereto by means of a screw or similar device 35 is a horizontal handle for holding the whole machine .in the proper position during its work and manipulating it in the manner required for enabling it to perform its proper'function. The pin section 28 is eccentric to the pin member 26- and also the disc 27 is eccentric to pin 26, the eccentricity in the relationship of these parts enabling a readjustment of the teeth of the gear wheel 6 with relation to the teeth 4 of the rack member, not only in the original tion to be as a pin 22 between the parallel arms or members 30 of the operating handle 5, as clearly shown in Figure 3. A sp-ring'24 is attached to one end of the dog and also to the' handle 5, the function of the spring being topull the tooth 21 into engagement with the teeth of the gear wheel. Further, the dog 20 has a handle '23 by which the tooth 21 can be lifted out of engagement with the teeth ofthe gear wheel 6. In such lifting the spring-provided end of the dog strikes against a stop 25 to keep it from going back too far. On the side of the gear wheel itself, opposite to where the dog 20 is situated, I arrange a pair of retaining pawls, two or more, there being two shown in the present example of the invention, 16- and 17, the pawl 16 having a tooth 16 and the pawl 17 having a tooth 17*, which teeth 16 and 17 engagewith the teeth of the gear wheel 6 and firmly, hold the same from any backward rotation after it has gradually rotated in a forward direction by means of the action of the dog 20 resulting from a for- Ward and downward movement of the handle' 5. It will be also observed that these retaining pawls 16 and 17 are provided with springs 19 for keeping them pushed for-.

ward with their teeth in engagement with the teeth of the gear wheel 6 and that they are mounted upon a horizontal fixed pin 18 which is carried in the lugs 3, 3, at a suitable point adjacent to gear wheel 6 and above the rack 4.

It will be evident that when the handle 5 is elevated from the position shown in Figure 3 the dog 20 will slip idly over'the teeth of gear wheel 6 and then, when the handle 5 is pressed forward and downwardly, he tooth 21 of dog 20 will engage one of the teeth of the gear wheel 6 and as the movement of the handle continues downward the gear'wheel will be rotated and the result of such rotation, in view of the fact that thegear wheel is in engagement with the teeth i -of the rack 4, will be to horizontally move said rack. The gear wheel. 6

as just explained, by means of the retaining pawls 16 and 17, and a'plurality of pawls is specified as employed in order that shorter segments of motion may be controlled and secured, it being evident, as'indicated in F lgure 3, that when one of the pawls-en- V gages between two teeth, the other pawl will be in contact with the outer edge of one of the teeth, so that half movements, or movein each segment of its rotation, 1

ments equal to one-half of the space between Figures 2 and 5, such right-angled bar 7 75. being firmly secured to the rack 4 by means of a screw or similar device 15. Further, the rack has at one end a stop 32 secured by a screw 33 and at another suitable point may be provided withv a pin or stop to limit its.

movement in the other direction, these stops easily striking against the ends'of the guide channel 2 as the rack is moved in one direction or the other. i

In order to show the practical application of the machine for pulling the two ends of the strap toward each other and causing them to overlap each other" and holding them while the seal or sealing device is being applied to the overlapped ends, I have indi- 0 cated in outline at A a box or package around which asses a strap or band having its two ends and B shown closely contiguous to each other. The machine is applied to these two ends for the purpose of pulling them towardeach other and causin" them to overlap. InEFigures 1 and 2 it wil be seen how the maphine is related tothe two ends of the band. It should be further explained that the head 2 of the main frame is provided with a clamp 12 pivotally mounted thereon by means of a pivot 13; and the cross bar 7 which is carried by the rack 4 near its outer end is provided with a similar clamp 9 pivotally mounted thereon by means of a pivot screw 10. The lower end of clamp 9 has serrated teeth 11 and the lower end of clamp 12 has serrated teeth 14. The clamp 9 is designed to securely hold the end B of the strap between its teeth 11 and the foot or ledge 7 of the cross piece 7, while the clamp 12 is designed to securely grasp and hold the other end B of the strap between its teeth 14: and the foot or ledge 2 of the head 2, all as clearlyl shown in Figure 1. When the machine s been so applied to the two ends of the strap and these .two' ends are securely grasped between the clamps, it can then be operated for the purpose of drawing the'ends B and B toward each other, it being noted thatthe clamps9 and 12 are so applied to the ends B and Bthat the clamping effect of such clamps on the ends will increase as the pull ing operation proceeds instead of loosening 2 as might'be the case if they were otherwise applied. Contiguous to the clampl 12 is a pm 31 acting-as a stop and neart e clamp these ends for the purpose, as I have just suggested. The clamps 9 and 12 are assumed now to be-in t e position shown in Figure 1. The manipulation of the handle 5 serves to pull one of the clamps towardtheother and thus bring one of the ends of the band or strap toward the other until .it finally overlaps the same. The handle 5 being in an elevated position at the time that the clamps are caused to engage the strap ends, it will then be depressed downwardly toward the main frame and as the dog 20 is in engagement with the gear wheel 6, during such downward movement of the handle, the result will be to rotate the gear wheel moreor less and this will actuate the rack bar 4. more or less and draw the clamp 9 and the end of the strap carried thereby toward the other clamp and toward the other end of the strap, for this movement of the rack bar 1 will be toward the right when the parts are in the position shown in Figures 1 and 3. As the wheel 6 is thus rotated the holding pawls 16 and 17 will be slipping over the teeth of the same and firmly preventing any return rotation of thegear wheel, one of the pawls dropping behind each tooth as the wheel rotates while the next pawl rests for a moment on the end of the tooth and then dro s behind it, and so on. When the lever 5 as been deressed as far as practicable it may then e elevated, for the dog 20 will slip idly over the teeth of the gear wheel during such lifting and then the handle 5 can again be depressed and the wheel given another impulse of rotation and this can be continued until the strap has been tightened as much as is desirable or possible and the ends thereof have been overlapped as much as is desired. The handle 5 may then be lifted far enough so that a seal press can be introduced beneath-it for the purpose of applying a seal or sealing plate or some kind of sealing means to the overlapped ends. of the strap for the purpose of firmly uniting them. Many forms of seal press for this purpose may be used. and it mayoperate upon seals that are widely diversified in character, being sometimes lead, sometimes tin or other metal, etc. In so lifting the handle 5 to allow the seal press to be operated it should be observed that the lifting will not be far enou h for the top ed e of the dog 20 carried yhandle 5 to striie against the pawls 16 and 17 and release the same, for it is necessaryjthat these awls should maintain their engagement wit the which the gear wheel until after the seal hasbeen applied in order that there may be no loosenmg of the strap ends; but after the ends '13, B have been interconnected and it is desired to remove the tightener device from the band or strap, the handle 5 will be thrown upwardly and backwardly far enough so that the heel of pawl 20-will strike against the heels of pawls 16 and 17.

The heels of these pawls 16 and 17 are so shaped that when the handle 5 is lifted up hard all the way and the heel of pawl or dog 20 is in engagement-with the heels vof pawls 16 and 17, these pawls 16 and 17 will disengage tooth 21 of pawl 20 from the gear 6. The pawl 20 then is brought to a stop by striking pin 25, and then the pawls 16 and 17 become disengaged from the gear by pawl 20 acting against same. After this the clamp levers 9 and lil'may be moved in a direction the reverse of that which gives their jaws clamping action, thereby releasing the same and allowing the n'iaehine to be removed from the strap. Then by laying hold of the rack bar 4: on the outer end thereof said bar, which has been previously pushed toward the right, can now be pulled freely toward the left in order that the gear wheel 6 may be in the position to act during its next operation upon substantially the full length of the rack 49 during the pulling operation. A handle 2%; enables the dog tooth 21 to be disengaged from the gear wheel 6 in order that the handle 5 may be moved as desired during the use of the device.

Many changes in the precise details of the construction and arrangement of the various parts may be made without exceeding the scope of the invention. It is not absolutely necessary that the stationary pin 26 on whlch the gear wheel 6 loosely. revolves and on lever 5 swings should be eccentr1cally related to the pin section 28 and the disc 27, for it is obvious that these parts may be concentric and that a single pin in lieu of several sections may be employed and also that the pivoting of the gear wheel and the handle may be widely changed from that shown and described, it being only essential that the gear wheel should be so arranged with the rack bar that it can actuate the same under the impulses rotation imparted thereto by the Oscillation ol the handle. Furthermore, in some construcill) loo

result can be secured when the eccentric disc is em loyed by turning the handle 5 and after tie removal of the screw 36 allowing the disc-27 to revolve in its bearing, the effect of which, due to this eccentric connection with the in 26, will be to lift the teeth of the gear wheel 6 tern orarily out of engagement with the, me 44, whereby the latter-will be set free and can be drawn back into position for the next operation. Further, there may be as many or as few of these retaining pawls as desired, arranged so as to engage a part of the gear teeth or the whole of the same or a fraction of the distance between two teeth, so as to actuate the movement of the gear wheel to a nicety and allow the drawing effect upon the parts of the strap to reach the maximum of efi'iciency, so tlfat the strap will be positioned as tightly as possible around the bale, crate, or other package; Other changes in the proportions and relations of the parts may also be made and it is unnecessary to specify the same in detail.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim as new and desi e to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a tightener device for package straps, the combination with a pair of clamps, each consisting of a pivoted arm formed with a jaw, for engaging the adjacent end of a strap, of a frame on which i one of the clamps is supported, a traveling bar sliding on said frame and carrying the other clamp, sald bar havlng a rack, a gear wheel mounted in the main frame, and an oscillatable handle, together with a pivoted dog thereon engaging the gear wheel and.

having a heel pro ection,

and retaining means for holding the gear wheel in its rotated position consisting of pawls located half a tooth of said gear wheel apart and having heel projections engaged by the heel of the dog device when the handle is. lifted clear back for the purpose of releasing the pawls, together with a positive stop for the g 2. In a tightener device for package straps, the combination with a pair of clamps, each consisting of a pivoted arm formed with-a jaw, for engaging the adjacent ends of a stra of a frame on which one of the clamps is supported, a traveling bar'sliding on said frame and carrying the other clamp, wheel mounted in the main frame, and. an oscillatable handle, together with a pivoted dog thereon engaging the gear wheel and havinga heel projection, a positive stop for the dog, a spring connecting the dog with the handle, and retaining means consisting of pivoted spring pawls engaging the gear wheel and located" half a tooth of said gear wheel apart and having heel projections engaged b the heel of the dog when the handle is lifted to release the pawls.

said bar having a rack, a gear.

signature.

3. In a tightener device for package straps, the combination of a pair of clamps for gripping adjacent parts of'a strap, and

means for drawing these clamps toward each other to cause an overlapping of the strap sections, said means including a gear mechanism, a traveling bar carrying one of the clamps, an oscillatable handle, a dog pivoted to said handle and having a heel projection, a pair of pivoted retaining,

the handle is lifted backwardly for the purpose of releasing the pawls,

together with a positive stop for the dog.

4. In a tightenerdevice for packagestraps, 'the combination of clamps adapted to be applied to parts of a strap, a frame on which one of the clamps is mounted, a bar sliding on the frame, a revoluble gear wheel, an operating handle for actuating the movable member, a pivoted dog on said handle having a heel projection, pivoted spring-provided retaining means consistin of a pair of pawls engaging the gear whee and located half a-tooth' of said gear wheel apart and having heel projections engaged by the heel of the dog device when the handle is lifted during the releasing operation, together with a positive stop for the dog and spring means for keeping the dog normally in active relation to the parts. i 1

5. In a .tightener device for package straps, the combination. with a pair of clamps, each consisting of a" pivoted arm other formed with a jaw, for engaging the 'adjas cent ends of a stra ofa frame on which one of the clamps is supported, a traveling bar sliding on said frame and carrying the other clamp,

way back, together with a positive stop for said dog.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my EMIL DIETZE.

said bar having a. rack, a revoluble gear wheel mounted in the main frame, and an oscillatable handle,

gear wheel apart. and' v 

